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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.TSC Minutes 10/14/2013Director Deputy Director Sean P. Dorsey Jason H. Leib MINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY COMMISSION DRAFT CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Mount Prospect Transportation Safety Commission was called to order at 7:01 p.m. on Monday, October 14, 2013. Mount Prospect Public Works Department 1700 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 -2229 R OLL CALL Present upon roll call John Keane Chuck Bencic Robert Fisher Justin Kuehlthau Carol Tortorello Bob Smith Randy Uidl Jeff Wulbecker Matt Lawrie Chairman Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Police Department Representative Fire Department Representative Public Works Representative Traffic Engineer —Staff Liaison Absent: Angel Campos Others in Attendance: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Commissioner Bencic, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Transportation Safety Commission held on July 8, 2013. The minutes were approved by a vote of 8 -0. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD There was no one in attendance that spoke on an issue not on the agenda. TSC Meeting Page 1 of 4 October 14, 2013 OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A. RAND — CENTRAL — MOUNT PROSPECT ROAD INTERSECTION DISCUSSION 1) Background Information Traffic signal operations including timing are controlled by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Maintenance of the traffic signals (changing burned out lights, repairing damaged equipment, etc) is the responsibility of the Village. Rand Road and Central Road are under the jurisdiction of IDOT while Mount Prospect Road (Rand Road to 300' south of Central Road) is owned by the Village. The driveway that serves the Mount Prospect Plaza is privately owned. Over the years the intersection has seen some modifications. MOT has attempted to tweak the signal timing to improve traffic flow. The Village installed pedestrian crossing signals and crosswalks to enhance pedestrian safety. The plaza changed the driveway's outbound lanes from a shared right -thru lane & shared left -thru lane to a right -only lane & shared left -thru lane to reduce congestion within the Rand Road / Mount Prospect Road intersection. Even with these changes, however, operational issues still exist. Blocked intersections occur on a regular basis, especially at the Central Road / Mount Prospect Road intersection. Throughout the day, even at non -peak travel times, northbound Mount Prospect Road traffic will back -up into Central Road blocking westbound traffic. In addition, traffic exiting the plaza can often back -up within the plaza causing some motorists to disobey the right -only lane and proceed south on Mount Prospect Road. This, in turn, causes congestion on southbound Mount Prospect Road between Central Road and Rand Road. Further, overall progression through the area is not ideal. Motorists can often get a red light at the adjacent intersection after proceeding through the first intersection. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the issues that exist today. A formal, large -scale study has not been done by IDOT because of budget limitations. The Village has applied for various grants to study the area but has been unsuccessful. 2) Discussion Chairman Keane introduced the topic and noted the item before the Commission was at the request of Commissioner Tortorello. He indicated the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the various issues at the intersection and develop short -term and long -term ideas for Staff to explore. No formal votes would be taken at the end of the meeting but the goal would be to build consensus among the group as to appropriate next steps. Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided the Commission background on the issue. He discussed the various agencies that play a role, previous work done at the intersection and current operational issues. He also played a series of videos taken during a recent afternoon showing some of the problems. Chairman Keane opened the item for discussion. TSC Meeting Page 2 of 4 October 14, 2013 Commander Smith said in his opinion the Central Road — Mount Prospect Road intersection experiences vehicles blocking the intersection more than the other two adjacent intersections. A primary issue is vehicles turning left from eastbound Central Road onto northbound Mount Prospect Road and blocking westbound traffic. His suggestion is to modify the traffic signal and allow left turns on a protected green arrow only. Commissioner Kuehlthau said that many vehicles disobey the sign that requires vehicles in the curb lane exiting the Mount Prospect Plaza to turn right onto Rand Road. Many motorists continue straight to Mount Prospect Road. There was discussion on adding pavement markings or a raised curb forcing motorists to turn right. There was also discussion on constructing a new right -turn only driveway onto Rand Road between WalMart and Charter One Bank. Chairman Keane suggested closing the plaza driveway onto Rand Road to improve traffic flow at the Rand Road — Mount Prospect Road intersection. He recommended Staff consider adding a new traffic signal system north on Rand Road between Mount Prospect Road and Business Center Drive. The commissioners discussed the impact this may have on existing businesses such as WalMart. They also discussed the benefit this could have on developing the vacant parcel on the opposite side of Rand Road. Commissioner Fisher also recognizes the operational issues the plaza driveway causes at the Rand Road — Mount Prospect Road intersection. He suggested converting the driveway to an entrance only rather than removing it altogether. Commissioner Bencic brought up the idea of adding a third lane exiting the plaza onto Rand Road and closing the Charter One bank driveway that connects to the plaza driveway. The curb lane would allow right turns only, the center lane would permit straight thru traffic, and the left lane would be a shared left -turn and thru traffic lane. Commissioner Bencic noted that vehicles turning right from eastbound Rand Road onto southbound Mount Prospect Road often will fill the area between Central Road and Rand Road. This, in turn, makes it difficult for vehicles exiting the plaza to clear the Rand Road — Mount Prospect Road intersection. It was suggested IDOT review this situation to see if there is a way to assure storage on Mount Prospect Road for vehicles exiting the plaza south of Rand Road. Traffic Engineer Lawrie brought up a traffic signal timing concern with northbound Mount Prospect Road. Northbound Mount Prospect Road at Rand Road receives a green light approximately 5 seconds ahead of northbound Mount Prospect Road at Central Road. Should the queue of waiting vehicles between Rand Road and Central Road reach Central Road, the green light at Rand Road will remain for approximately 30 seconds allowing many waiting vehicles south of Central Road to clear both the Central Road — Mount Prospect Road intersection and Rand Road — Mount Prospect Road intersection in one cycle. However, if there are only a few northbound vehicles waiting between Rand Road and Central Road, by the time the platoon of vehicles south of Central Road reach Rand Road the traffic signal at Rand Road has turned red. The platoon of vehicles now quickly fills the area between Rand Road and Central Road and can easily lead to a blocked intersection. Because there is a gap of time where the traffic signal does not detect any northbound vehicles at Rand Road, it will end the phase returning the green light to Rand Road. It was recommended IDOT modify the traffic signal timing to prevent this from happening. The Commission discussed both short -term and long -term recommendations. Short -term recommendations included requesting IDOT review the traffic signal timing at all three intersections to see if it can operate more efficiently. In addition, IDOT should be asked if there TSC Meeting Page 3 of 4 October 14, 2013 is new technology with traffic signal equipment that can make the signal operate more efficiently. Modifications to the plaza driveway and Mount Prospect Road should also be explored. Adding pavement markings or raised curb to force motorists to turn right onto Rand Road from the curb lane within the plaza driveway is one recommendation. Improvements to Mount Prospect Road when it is resurfaced by the Village should also be studied by the Engineering Division. Long -term recommendations include asking IDOT to perform a study of the area looking at both the traffic signal operations and roadway layout. Second, the Village has applied for various grants to study the area but has been unsuccessful. It was recommended Staff continue to look for grant opportunities. Finally, the Engineering Division should partner with the Planning Division and consider a Rand Road corridor study. Such a study would not only look at the traffic signal operations but review future development and the impact along Rand Road between Business Center Drive and Central Road. Traffic Engineer Lawrie summarized the discussion and recommendations. There was consensus from the Commission members to move forward as discussed. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said he would bring the issue back to the Commission in the future for an update. Chairman Keane thanked the members for their input and ended the discussion on this item. COMMISSION ISSUES Commissioner Kuehlthau asked if the Engineering Division had an opportunity to visit the Farmer's Market this summer and observe the pedestrian activity at Northwest Highway and Wille Street. Traffic Engineer Lawrie responded he was out one Sunday in August and counted pedestrians. He will pass along the results to the Commission. Commissioner Kuehlthau inquired as to whether there is an ordinance that prohibits parking near STOP signs. Commander Smith responded that a vehicle cannot be parked within 30' of a STOP sign and 20' of a crosswalk. Traffic Engineer Lawrie mentioned that signs enforcing this ordinance are typically installed near schools and other locations that experience a lot of parking. Commissioner Kuehlthau asked that Staff observe the parking near St. John's Episcopal Church at Thayer Street and Route 83 and consider adding signs. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Transportation Safety Commission voted 8 -0 to adjourn at 8:35 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Bencic. Commissioner Tortorello seconded the motion. $ . � Respect � submitted, Matthew P. Lawrie, P.E. Traffic Engineer h:\ engi nee ring\ traffic\ safety_ commission \recs &rains \TSC- oct13m in. docx TSC Meeting Page 4 of 4 October 14, 2013